Airbrush Makeup cities: Los Angeles

The Center of the Airbrush Makeup Universe! 

Los Angeles could easily be named the capital of Airbrush Makeup. Hollywood and the film and TV industry as a whole provide an irresistible lure for the greatest MUAs, who find the most fertile grounds to experiment with innovative ideas. Airbrush makeup was invented right here, in 1925, when it was used on the hundreds of extras in Fred Niblo's Ben Hur.

Nowadays the demands of High Definition make airbrushing the most sought after technique in creating makeup that is undetectable to the unforgiving HD camera lenses, and also for its applications in advanced special effects. Airbrushing is of course the most used painting technique in FACE OFF, the very popular FX reality show where professional MUAs compete in extreme makeup challenges, which is filmed right here in LA.

The most interesting aspect for a visiting makeup fan is the unprecedented range of products that are readily available in the amazing stores of the area. Stores so big and well stocked the likes of which are almost unthinkable in Europe. Not to mention the prices, which are very convenient and for once free of shipping charges and import duties. We will be publishing extensive reviews of some of these stores, and we also look forward to reviewing the many products and brands that we were able to take with us, so that you can make the most informed choice as you advance in the wonderful universe of airbrushing. So please stay tuned, so much more info is heading your way...

Airbrush Eyeshadow Makeup Tutorial: Kardashian Inspired Smokey Eyes & full HD makeup

New video tutorial with complete HD application!

We are very happy to bring you our second video tutorial. This is a complete look, from colour match to foundation and full eye makeup, vaguely inspired by Kim Kardashian because of the natural colours of our  model (our wonderful friend Chiara on her first "modeling shoot" ever!). The only steps missing from the video are gloss and mascara application, but then again those are not airbrushed so we thought we could leave them out. The makeup we are using for this video is once again our beloved DINAIR. We are not discussing technique this time, but we are leaving all technical aspects for our next two tutorials, which will focus exclusively on a general introduction to airbrush makeup and on application techniques specifically.

I personally hate long videos where the person doing the demonstration blabs on repeating "now you're gonna wanna do this" about seven million times. So we kept it short, clean and sweet. Like airbrush makeup itself, after all...

Cosmoprof 2013 video: Introducing Technoair

A high quality water base airbrush line from Spain

We are finally up and running with our second and last video report from Cosmoprof 2013!

TECHNOAIR is an airbrushing line created by airbrush painter Lluís Díaz, who illustrated the products with passion and knowledge for our camera.

All the makeup products shown are water based, and they include a vast array of colours ranging from foundation to blushes, shimmering (actually sparkling!) eye shadows, and body painting colours. Technoair also offers a full tanning line, and finally a beautiful range of polymer based colours for nails that allow the artist a unique array of effects. Lluís is first and foremost an artist, and he designed the whole line with special attention to the compatibility of the colours and to the technical equipment: Technoair features a wide range or airbrushes and compressors for any situation, from personal use right down to big Salon.

The brand is based in Spain, offering fellow EU residents a chance to purchase anything from the website without fearing Customs duties and delays. The WEBSITE itself is just in its initial stages, and at this time the products are marketed for the professional sector only, but in time I am confident that the focus will shift more towards the general consumer. In the meantime Lluís is constantly travelling internationally to teach the discipline and spread the word about the products.

As for us, we are of course planning a video tutorial with Tecnoair products and a full review, but in the meantime you can enjoy this clip. The video is subtitled in Italian as Lluís is building strong ties in this Country, and of course the main language is Spanish, so apologies to all you English speakers, eventually we will do a voice over of the audio, but in the meantime you can enjoy a sneak peak into this very interesting company. 

Cosmoprof 2013 video: Introducing MistAir

A dynamic brand with an impressive range of airbrush products!

The first video report from Cosmoprof 2013 is now live on our YouTube channel!

We were very excited to meet with MistAir, a UK based brand that produces what is possibly the widest range of airbrush products out of any company, with a silicone makeup line, an alcohol based body art line and a water based FX series, a water based Hair colour line, a selection of acrylic colours for nail art and a tanning line with four different strengths of tanning products.

MistAir is geared towards the professional market, but its products are available to anyone through their WEBSITE, so be sure to check it out.

I myself could not resist taking some stuff home with me, and I left the exhibition with a brand new airbrush (their very sturdy, slick and versatile SL 1000) , a sampler pack containing their whole base range, plus a few more colours, so you can expect a tutorial/review from me in the near future.

For now, it's off to lovely Shelley Brumpton (Sales and Marketing Manager), who was kind enough to show and explain the whole line to our camera. Enjoy, and please don't forget to rate, comment and share...

Airbrush Makeup at Cosmoprof 2013

New energies at play...

Today I can finally catch up after 4 straight days at Cosmoprof 2013 in Bologna, Italy, where I had the lucky job of finding out new products for a feature on Trucco e Bellezza magazine, the only Italian glossy publication entirely dedicated to makeup.
The show is barely over  but I can already tell you that I have met several very interesting Airbrush Makeup producers who are to introduce this wonderful medium to the European makeup scene:

Mistair is a British company with an amazingly comprehensive line of products including silicone based makeup, alcohol based body paints, polymer based Nail Art colours and  even water based colour for Hair and a water based series for special effects and body painting called MistFX.

Technoair is a fantastic line of waterbased products for face, body and nails coming from Spain and created by airbrushing Guru Luìs Dìaz, who is not only a master makeup artist, but has formulated the entire line of products and designed the wide range of equipment the company proudly offers.

Full video reports with interviews and tutorials on both Mistair and Technoair will be coming soon to our YouTube channel.

We have met with several more brands, Allisis from Korea (beauty makeup), and Ten Image by Cazcarra from Spain (beauty and body art) and Eulenspiegel from Germany (body art), and we look forward to writing about them too and including them in our LINKS DIRECTORY page!

In spite of the economic downturn and some truly crazy March weather, I was happy to see some new energies finally at play even here in Italy. Stay tuned...

Fix that airbrush makeup: Mist &Fix and HD Powder by Makeup Forever

Airbrush MUA must have!

Today I'd like to introduce two absolute MUST HAVE for airbrush muas, and two of my favourite makeup complements in general.

We all know that one of the best advantages of airbrush makeup is its amazing durability, however there are times and occasions when we may need to "seal the deal" against unforeseen factors such as tears, unusual perspiration or even simply weather. Weddings, stage and screen appearances or even a simple night at the club will require a little extra guarantee to make sure the makeup stays flawless until you decide to take it off. This is where these two amazing products by makeupforever come in.

HD Microfinish Powder is a clear, ultra fine finishing powder featuring a proprietary pigment called "soft focus" that is created to do just that: give your overall makeup the same effect as you would get applying a light soft focus filter to your camera, without smudging or interfering with the colours you chose in any other way. The final effect is very subtle, but if you use professional lights you will immediately appreciate the difference, and you'll love it even more when you see the results on camera.  HD powder is applied with an amazing Kabuki brush made of the finest, softest synthetic polymer imaginable, creating a soft, luxurios and above all shed-free experience. It is pretty much the only brush I actually use since I "converted" to airbrush makeup!

After you've applied HD powder it's time to seal your makeup for good. Mist & Fix is the perfect product to achieve just that. As the name suggests, it is a spray on mist that is applied without any propellant. This is somewhat scary at the beginning, especially if you are wearing waterbased makeup, because the product is atomized somewhat unevenly from the bottle, producing droplets that vary in size and that will appear to leave a mark when they land on your face, but please don't panic, it will dry without a trace in under a minute, and you'll be ready to face your day without fearing sweat, tears or weather.

Hd Powder, Kabuki Brush and Mist & Fix are available at Sephora and wherever Makeup Forever products are sold. The powder and spray come in two different sizes. They are somewhat expensive, but trust me, you will not regret the investment! :)

The Best Airbrush Makeup Videos: Beauty Makeup

An awesome, time saving Playlist!

I'll just come right out and say it: good video tutorials on airbrush makeup are few and hard to find. I have been researching YouTube for years now and I realized that most airbrush tutorials out there are little more than lengthy, less than gripping unboxing reports with a few unfocused demonstrations thrown in here and there.

Most of them are not even HD, so you can't even tell exactly what the makeup is actually doing to the skin, and then there's this habit of actually speeding up the video during spraying, in order to leave more room for totally useless descriptions that one can find pretty much on any Company website.

So this is where my "heart of gold" comes in: I just created a playlist on my channel of the best tutorials I could find. The most useful, right to the point, no BS videos out there actually TEACHING something, and saving you the hours I had to waste trying to sift through the useless stuff.

This first playlist is dedicated to Beauty how to's. It features a quite a few videos by official brands, but also a few gurus sharing tips and demonstrating techniques. I will add to it and update it as soon as I discover more deserving videos, or as soon as they are made. In the meantime of course I am working on my second tutorial, which shall be out soon.

Enjoy!

Here's the link to the Playlist:
THE BEST AIRBRUSH TUTORIALS: BEAUTY MAKEUP